Counselor Undone by Lisa Rayne Read Free Book Online

the Pro Bono Program to add another smacks of
personal hubris not community service.”
    “Jordis, I can understand wanting to fight for the social
underdog.” Eric’s voice held a slight edge of condescension. “But let’s look at
this logically.”
    Jordis lifted an unopened water bottle from the table,
twisted the cap off, and took a sip. Setting the bottle back on the table, she
slowly swiveled her chair to the right, crossed her long legs and responded
with a quiet air of nonchalance. “Logically?”
    Eric grinned his pretty-boy grin, expecting his charm to
carry the day. “Exactly.”
    Jordis smiled back, not with joviality, but with the look of
someone who recognized an insult and intended to pick up the gauntlet thrown
down before her.
    Michael watched the foot Jordis dangled in the air bob
twice. He tried to keep his eyes on her ankles, but they were drawn to her
shapely calves and beyond, to where her black pencil skirt had ridden up her
thighs. His thoughts wandered to what she might be wearing under that skirt. A
vision of Jordis uncrossing her legs to plant her cheetah-pump shod feet wide
enough apart to give him a peek flashed through his brain. The image hit him
hard and shocked him with the instant hardening impact on the muscle between
his thighs.
    Looking up from Jordis’s thighs, his eyes met those
multi-colored orbs he found almost as entrancing as her legs. Her eyes shifted
color. Her facial expression remained neutral, but she’d noticed where his
attention had been focused. He dropped his foot to the floor and turned his
seat squarely under the table, needing to be discreet about his lap’s abrupt
change in appearance.
    Dammit. He
couldn’t believe he’d been caught, not once but twice, during a rare flare of
female gawking. He didn’t usually ogle woman, particularly not at the office.
He had a strict personal policy against fraternizing with associates or any
firm staff. He’d learned the hard way while a junior associate working with his
father and grandfather that having the Remington name on the building and on
his driver’s license made him a target for schemers and gold diggers. If they
couldn’t coax him into marriage or trap him into fatherhood, they weren’t beyond
claiming a consensual encounter constituted sexual harassment.
    “So,” Jordis replied to Eric Covington, shifting her attention
back to the discussion at hand, “are you saying I didn’t use logic when evaluating
the case the first time or you simply think I’m incapable of making a logical,
coherent analysis without your assistance?”
    Eric’s smile faltered at the edges. “I didn’t say anything
like that. All I’m saying is we need to look beyond personal biases and analyze
each possible pro bono matter objectively.”
    Michael leaned forward in his chair. He didn’t like the direction
the discussion had taken. He was about to put a stop to it when Chase warned
him not to interrupt with a subtle shake of his head. Michael accepted the
warning and held his tongue. It didn’t sit well with him, but Chase had
shepherded the group alone for the last few months so he would defer to Chase’s
judgment for the time being.
    Jordis’s direct gaze never wavered from Eric’s face. “Ah. So
you feel I’m biased and unable to be objective in this matter.”
    Eric held up his hands in a gesture of truce. “Jordis,
there’s no need to get defensive. Let’s not make this personal.”
    The corner of Jordis’s mouth lifted in a half smile. “Oh, let’s ,”
she replied with a lilt on the last word. “Eric, why don’t you explain to us
exactly what personal biases I might have towards this potential client?” When
Eric didn’t reply immediately, she pressed him. “Is it the fact she’s a single
mom or that she lives in the inner city? Or, is there some other connection you
believe we have?”
    A vacuum of sound permeated the conference room. Everyone
stared at Eric, waiting for his response.
    Michael